The Eye of Terror: End of Terror

[Cameron]

Battle rages all across the Eye of Terror. In space, warships and battlecruisers clash, sending volleys of ordnance at each other while fighters and gunships clash all around them. On the ground, Chaos forces clash with Imperial forces, both in the Chaos City and out in the wastelands beyond.

In the courtyard, the Grey Knights Chapter prepares to defend against an assault. Gun emplacements are set up at each entrance to the courtyard, and the Marines use debris and anything else they can find to build makeshift cover. Bolters are checked and re-checked. Chainswords are tuned. Ammunition is passed around. A few soldiers with lascannons and other heavy weapons take positions on the jagged hills separating the courtyard from the base of the Spire, getting the high ground to rain death on any caught approaching. A dreadnought, piloted by a gravely wounded marine on life support within it’s armored core, stomps into the clearing, taking up a position where it can easily reach any of the entrances quickly. A massive power-charged sword is strapped to it’s left hand, and a massive bolt hurling autocannon is strapped to it’s right, with a flamethrower attached underneath it.

The newly appointed Master Captain Aldaris stands just in front of the dreadnought, looking on with concern as his forces prepare.

“This can’t be everyone. We’re missing 3rd and 6th Company, as well as the Assault Marines. And where in the bleeding Imperium is our armor?”

A marine in Terminator armor to the Master Captain’s left glances at a thin sheet of plexiglass in his hand. Text and images flash quickly across it’s surface.

“3rd Company is in route. Their Thunderhawk was taking too much fire so they had to find another route. We haven’t heard from 6th Company since they entered the city. The Assault Marines are still pinned down by daemons near that big cathedral to the south. And our armor is still spread out throughout the city. They’re trying to get here, but they’re overwhelmed.”

Aldaris frowns, but nods.

“We’ll have to make it work with what we have, then.”

There is a metallic twang from behind the two Marines. Karyl is leaning against the dreadnought’s leg, tuning his guitar.

“Don’t worry, buddy. You don’t need tanks when you’ve got…”

Karyl strikes a pose, holding his guitar in one hand while he extends his other hand towards the Marines. He tosses his long blond hair back behind him with a flick of his head.”

“Blue… Lightning.”

Aldaris simply stares at the Elemental. Garr and Kari both laugh as they approach.

“Knock it off, Blue Lightning.. We have work to do.”

Karyl glares at Kari.

“Hey! Don’t make fun of my stage name. I spent years on that! Girls love it!”

The three Elementals continue to banter as they walk towards the nearest entrance of the courtyard. Aldaris stares after them.

“I sure hope Lord Aileron’s faith in them isn’t misplaced.”

Cameron and his company of Grey Knight Terminators charge through the gate that the companions had used to get into the courtyard earlier. Ahead of them lie another set of obsidian steps leading up to the base of the Spire. Cameron can see Gulgrim and his retinue sprinting up the steps ahead of him. The other companions are further behind. Beyond the orks, at the top of the steps, there is a massive obsidian door covered in runes and images depicting scenes of chaos and violence.

As Cameron gathers his thoughts, he catches a mental message from Danyael. He replies.

I know you're hard to kill. That's exactly the reason why we need you with us. The others know what they're doing. They'll be fine.

Cameron smirks beneath his helmet.

And besides, someone has to be here to keep Mary company.

Cameron cuts himself off from all further mental contact. He then barks an order through his headset to the rest of the Terminator company.

“I’m going to have the orks breach the door. Move in behind them and fan out. We will assess the threat before engaging.”

Cameron throws a psychic message forward to the Warboss.

Hey big guy. Think you can get that door open?

Cameron allows his blades to appear in his hands, keeping the Elemental blades sheathed at his sides. There will surely be plenty of time for them later. For now, he’ll stick with the classics.

AS Cameron and the Grey Knights continue to move forward, Mary keeps pace with them from above. She notes the orks making a beeline for the massive gate, and studies the length of the Spire again, looking for any visible means of alternate entry. If there is one, she cannot see it.She comes to a stop in mid air, her broadsword still over her right shoulder, ready to dive towards the gate the moment it opens.

[Shadow Chorus]

Gulgrim doesn't even break stride as Cameron reaches out to him. He merely grins his massive Orky fangs.

"'Course I'z ken get it open."

As Gulgrim began to make his way to the top of the steps, he began to pull back his Cybork arm, preparing for a heavy punch. The fist began to spin on its mechanical wrist, picking up speed until began to resemble a drill more than a hand, and as he pulled back his shoulder as far as he could, he crested the final step. With a lunging leap, he thrust his cybork arm into the door, a resounding CLANG of metal on metal echoing through the air. At first it seemed as if the Warboss's hand had embedded itself into the door, but otherwise not much had happened, but then the discharge of green energy burst forth from the point of contact. There was a noise like a cannon being fired, and with a burst of raw force the Dent in the door became a man-sized hole.

"Feh. Not big enough. Guess I'z not tryin' 'ard enough. Gotta give dese spikey gitz more credit. Dey ain't completely worthless."

Unsatisfied with the scale of the entrance he had created, the Warboss grabbed the rent metal with both of his hands and began to push them outward, forcing the hole wider. Metal crumpled under the inhuman strength of the green titan, and in moments he had forced both of his arms to full extension, ripping a hole in the door large enough for a good-sized tank to fit through.

"Right. Dat's better den. Come on ladz! In we go!" Gulgrim pulled his weapons from his sides and began to run headlong into whatever awaited him on the other side of the door.

[Veldanya Venalla]

As the shining column of Seraphs continue marching forward, the Seraphim watches as Gulgrim and his boyz barrel past everyone as they clearly intend to be the first through the doorway.  Shaking his head slightly at the orks exuberance he glances around him, taking in his surroundings for a moment.  His attention is brought back to the gate however when he hears what sounds like an explosion up head.  His glowing gaze settles on the Warboss ripping back the torn metal of the door until a rather large size hole is available for them all to enter through.

=========Meanwhile back in the courtyard=============
As the Grey Knights set up their defenses the Seraph Vanguard squads move to bolster the Space Marines.  Veritable walls of angelic steel form along the lines as the Seraph soldiers set themselves for the inevitable onslaught as the Colossi that remained behind position themselves behind the Seraph and Space Marine ground forces.  Along the ridge line where the Grey Knight ranged forces have position, angelic archers join them, accompanied by numerous Seraphs of the Voice caste, their figures and staves already glowing softly with light as they begin to direct fortifying blessings about the forces in front of them.

As Aldaris curses and inquires about the missing forces, a figure gently lands a few feet behind the man and walks up to him.  The voice of the Seranna is soft and gentle, an almost reassuring tone even to the battle-hardened veterans she speaks to.

"Worry not, the Light stands with you this day.  Many may fall but we shall be victorious in the end, I have no doubt of it."

Realizing she likely interrupted the Master Captain and gives a slight bow in apology.

"Forgive me, I believe you are the Commander of these...Space Marines I believe you are called?  I am Nethanya, Seranna of the Light.  The Seraph forces are ready and positioned to hold back the tides of Darkness as long as possible."

=============Elsewhere==========
The chaos and horrors of battle wash over the wastelands of the Eye and through the streets of the malevolent cityscape.  As the Chaos forces meet the Seraphs, the corrupted Space Marines seem to revel in what they perceive to be easy pickings.  Men clad in shiny armor and wielding shields and swords against the might of Chaos?  The excitement doesn't last long as they find out that the "simple" shiny armor seems to be just as durable against their bolters and chainswords as the armor of the Adeptus Astartes, and their weaponry cuts through the durable Chaos armor with relative ease.  These are not some simple soldiers they are facing, some fodder brought in by the Imperium.  As they realize this they come under fire from arrows raining from behind the shields.  Seemingly simple arrows, appearing to be crafted of pale wood manage to punch through their armor as well, turning their targets into veritable pincushions.  Blasts and beams of light crash down from the heavens as the prayers and spells of the Voice Caste are unleashed upon the dark armies before them, the restorative powers of the Light coursing through the Seraphs and Space Marines that do suffer injuries, ensuring that when the Chaos forces do score casualties....it has cost them greatly to finally do so.

Within the city it is even more chaotic though.  Gunfire and arrows whizz from almost every direction  as squads of Vanguard forces proceed through the streets, forming moving palisades and providing their Space Marine allies with cover to fire from.  In one street they encounter resistance from a Chaos Dreadnought.  The foul creation brings its large claws down on the moving wall, crushing Seraphs beneath the blows.  The macabre machine does not have long to revel in its brief victory when suddenly twin beams of pure white light blast down from above, badly damaging the Dreadnought.  The eyes of the Colossi responsible for the attack dimly as the beams reside, the massive stone creature stepping over its allies below as it draws close to its target.  Seizing the Dreadnought in its massive stone hand it crushes it as one would crush a simple soda can, the process below resuming momentum once more.

[Daccio]

Sepher focuses himself on the task at hand. He cannot really do anything to affect the outcome of the space or groundbattles outside of where he is going, so he blocks it all out. He charges alongside Cameron as they start the assault on the spire.

He comes to a half next to some of the grey knight terminators as they prepare to breach and enter the door. He glances around at the giant hulks in their armor and chuckles to himself at the  reality of what they are doing.

"Don't you guys ever get tired in all of that heavy armor?" he asked the terminators next to him, holding his spear in one hand and gently tapping the heavy metal plating with another.

He shook his head and prepped to charge in with the rest as Gulgrim breached the door.

[Soul Reaver]

Soul Reaver draws up alongside Sepher, watching as Gulgrim eagerly tears throug the door ahead of them.

"It is probably for the best that Gulgrim's orks lead this charge.  They seem oddly... expendable."

He glances sidelong at Sepher and quietly poses a question that has been bothering him.

"I wonder what Gulgrim would do if there were no fight in his near vicinity?"

He looks at Gulgrim again as the hulking titan's muscles ripple across his body and he wrenches the obsidian gate apart.

"I suspect he would feel the need to make one..."

[Daccio]

He nods to Soul as he steps up beside him.

"I agree. They seem to have a willingness to throw themselves into the line of fire." He said, contemplating that.

He thought a bit at soul's words, and spoke.

"You know, I think that you might right" he said quietly "It seems like that is his way. Fight his way to the next fight, and if there isn't one, well, there will be when he gets here" he frowned.

He watched as well, as the Ork tests his might against the gate.

"I hope we do not have that sort of issue when the fight is done" he sighed, letting the point of his spear dip low, in a relaxed position as he waited.

[Danyael]

Danyael lands nearby Sepher and Soul Reaver as the two discuss the oddity of the Gulgrim's Boyz. He is stillness personified as he watches the orks do their work seemingly all the more eager to not only act as the vanguard but be the first to fight. He helped himself to a smirk beneath his hood as he closed his eyes a moment. "Helljumper, Helljumper where've you been?" he mused a cadence from a time and universe that seemed lifetimes away. "Feet first into hell and back again." he hefted the yamato over his shoulder. "When I die, please bury me deep." he watched the Terminators, scanning them over and admiring the power both within and around them. "Place an MA5 down by my feet." he approached the boyz, though still kept his distance, also willing to be a part of the vanguard but preferring to let the Boyz have the pleasure of first blood. "Don't cry for me, don't shed no tear." he continued whispering the words to himself, musing at how long they had been fighting this campaign. "Just pack my box with PT gear." he shared a nod with some of the Grey Knights, then turned his gaze back to the Warboss and his fellows, close to breaching the gate.

He paused a moment to assess the tactics at hand. Jharm had summoned his comrades to fight against Chaos, while Cameron had been able to replenish the ranks lost by way of the reserves of his chapter. As a conduit, in his own right, to a nation that had gone vastly unknown by the companions. And as he had been connected to a certain source beyond the warp - even more so changed by it - he would be remiss if he did not offer his own services to give the Grey Knights, and ultimately the companions, a significant fighting edge. But that time wasn't now. Now he would wait and fight and act on this option only when and if absolutely necessary. And he most certainly hoped for the necessity.

"Cuz one early morning 'bout zero five." he clenched the handle of the sword with one hand and the scabbard with the other, flexing it over his shoulders with the impending adrenaline rush that was surging to the surface. "The ground will rumble there'll be lightning in the sky." the power suddenly seeping forward in subtle drops and veins of arcing black and blue lightning that looked more like the webwork of the nervous system. "Don't you worry, don't come undone." he began to walk forward as the gate was close to being breached. And then, the way was clear. "It's just my ghost on a PT run!" he launched forth in a burst of uncanny speed as he vanished into the fray in a row of howling afterimages in his wake, ready to up the violent defiance against the threats on the other side.

[Kitharsis]

Kitharsis pauses as Gulgrim tears into the thick door to the tower.  The Ork was making a right mess of the black iron, and soon the door would be open.  Whatever was waiting for them on the inside was surely anticipating their entrance.

Regardless, Sepher and Soul Reaver's idle banter reaches Kitharsis's ears.  He grimaces when Soul Reaver questions what Gulgrim would do without a fight nearby.  He and Sepher's reasoning is on par with Kitharsis's.  He turns to the pair to add his thoughts.

"Gulgrim does appear to have some sort of bearing for right and wrong.  Although whether his moral compass aligns with a rational being is yet to be determined."  Kitharsis brings a closed fist to cover his mouth and feigns a cough.

[Cameron]

As Nethanya speaks to Aldaris, he turns to face her. He clamps a mailed fist over his heart in a show of respect.

"I am Master Captain Aldaris. Second in command of the Grey Knights chapter of the Imperial Space Marines. We're honored to have your assistance."

Aldaris turns over what he just said in his mind. Second in command. He never expected to be promoted this high this quickly. He only hopes that his first action after being promoted isn't his last. He makes sure his arm-mounted Storm Bolter is locked and loaded before drawing a two-handed power sword. He flips a small switch on it's hilt and it flares to light, supercharged with power from his armor's power plant. He moves to stand with the first line of Marines, ready for anything that might appear.


The terminator who was addressed by Sepher glances at him as he taps his armor. He takes a hand off of his force halberd and flexes his arm. The sound of the powered servos assisting the movement is clearly audible.

"The power plant strapped to our backs moves the joints for us. It makes us stronger than normal. We'd actually be much more tired without it."

The marine snaps to attention as the sound of rending metal is heard from up ahead.

Gulgrim successfully tears a hole in the side of the Spire and he and his orky retinue charge through. They are greeted by a startling sight. Like most buildings the companions have encountered, the Spire is much bigger on the inside than it is on the outside. The ground floor of the Spire is about the size of a large arena. The entire floor appears to be set up for receiving honored guests. Chairs, couches, and even beds are placed here and there, and strange awful looking sculptures tower high above. Fountains of what appears to be blood are set up here and there. In the center of the room, a massive spiral staircase wraps around a transparent crystal pillar, with warp energy surging upward through the center of it. None of this is the startling part.

The startling part is that every square meter of unoccupied space is taken up by a Chaos Marine. And not just any Chaos Marine. These are the remaining legions of the Thousand Sons. Empty shells of armor bound together by an extremely powerful, ancient enchantment. They are all armed with flaming swords and arcane looking bolters that fire pure Chaos energy instead of actual rounds. Upon seeing Gulgrim and company charging in, their reaction is almost machine-like. The front line charges the orks, while the remaining Marines open fire, showering them in Chaos fire.

Mary was hovering just above the orks and hears the fighting start. She yells back to the companions behind her.

"Looks like we have a welcoming party. I'm moving in!"

Mary swoops through the hole made by the orks and back up above them. She almost immediately has to course correct as the Marines start firing on her.

"Shit. I can't stay up here. They'll cook me right out of the sky."

Mary falls from the sky like a meteor, making an unfortunate landing in one of the fountains of blood. It is destroyed by her impact and the Marines around it are shoved backwards by flying gore and shrapnel. Now soaked in blood, Mary screams a battle cry and wades into battle with her sword held aloft. A terrible sight to behold, for certain.

Cameron hears Mary's shout and quickly orders his men forward.

"Take up position just inside the breach! Do not charge the enemy until we've made a proper assessment! Let the strike team handle the brunt of this! No unnecessary casualties!"

Cameron charges forward with the rest of the Terminators, ready to join the fray.

[Daccio]

"Huh... well I guess that makes sense then. That's a lot of metal and power" He said, nodding to the terminator. As the marine snaps to attention, and rending metal is heard over the chaos of sounds behind them, he looks up as Gulgrim tears through the door. He shook his head at the raw brutish strength the ork displayed

As Mary swoops in behind the orks, Sepher realizes with a bit of interest that these bolters are firing pure chaos energy, something that he had learned to manipulate from his home world. Feeling safer now, he charges in with the companions, ready to face the marines, his slim, metal spear held ready.

Sepher could feel his power coursing through his body now. He allowed his body to take on the Shape of one of the more powerful daemon souls he had, a natural born warrior. A flash of light pulsed from him and as it died, a great horned daemon stood where Sepher had before. He stomped forward and took a running leap, the muscles of the daemon form bulging against his armor,  to land in the middle of a line of marines firing their bolters.

He landed with a loud thud, crouched as the floor beneath his feet cracked with the force of it, his spear held behind him at the ready. Blood splashed and sloshed from the fountain mary had destroyed. Opening his mouth, he unleashed an unnatural roar, his now pointed teeth gleaming sharply in the chaos light, flecks of blood and spittle specking out. He threw himself unmercilessly into the enemy.

His spear slashed out with deadly efficiency, the crunch of metal on metal competing with bolter fire. He snarled as he slammed his spear into the chest of one marine and through it, before growling and pulling it out. He roared again, and as chaos energy flared around him, he gathered energy from it for his own attack. His spear sung as it spun to clatter against bolters and armor as he strove to kill what he could as his energy built up.

(OOC)

[Veldanya Venalla]

The sound of gunfire erupts from within the entry hall as Gulgrims orks barrel into the awaiting Chaos forces.  The Seraphim and the Seraph forces show no hesitation as they spring into action.  A shimmering shield of light manifests over Jharms left arm as he moves forward, pointing towards the Terminators with his hammer

"Seraphs! Shield our allies! Hold fast against these dark constructs of Darkness!"

The Seraphs move to do just that, the Vanguard moving in front of the Terminators, their shields giving the Marines a waist to midchest high "wall" to fire from behind.  The archers move in behind the Marines and begin to rain gleaming sheaths of light down upon the heads of the Thousand Sons.  Above the heads of the Seraphs, Marines, and Companions, a handful of large glowing orbs of Light manifest.  From within the orbs beams of light shoot out.  When one strikes an ally they find their wounds healed and strength restored, whereas when one hits a Chaos soldier, the light burns and punches through their accursed shells.  A few of the Voice seraphs seem to withold their attacks though, their gaze watching the ongoing battle.  Their intent is revealed as a Thousand Son marine soon falls beneath the strike of Seraphs spear.  The awaiting Seraphs raise their staffs as the gems glow brightly, cords of light shooting from within the gems and rocketting towards the fallen enemy.  Before the macabre creation has a chance to reform itself, the cords seeking out the twisted soul that resides within the battered husk and destroys it before the soldier can be "rebuilt".  Its clear though that this is a directed effort though as other Chaos soldiers rise once more but perhaps over time it will prove effective at slowly wittling down the enemy.

Meanwhile Jharm charges into battle alongside the other Companions, Light glowing from within him as his shield collides with the enemy before him.  Sepher can almost feel a brief "wave" of disapproval from the Seraph leader as he transforms into a large demon and wallows into the fray.

[Shadow Chorus]

Finally.

Gulgrim tore through into the darkness, heedless of the warpfire spewing around him, and barreled straight forward, knocking aside suits of animated armor as he tunneled his way into the heart of the enemy's forces. As blasts and cuts rained down at him, the Warboss laughed uproariously, heedless of whatever wounds he took from attacks that got past the Orky armor of da Coat o' Knives. When he had found an appropriate point to start the fight, he slid to a halt, rushing through a few more Rubric Marines before he decided to get properly to the scrap. As the Warboss took a look over his shoulder, he noticed none of the enemies he had knocked over on his run through had died. Looks like these gits were made of sterner stuff.

The warboss knew what to do about that.

"Get stuck in ladz!" Gulgrim shouted, planting his kutlass up to the hilt in a Rubric Marine's armor, denting the chest-plate and driving the entire suit into the ground. Planting his boot on the marine's helmet and crushing it under his weight, the Ork levered his blade from the marine's chest just in time to cleave into the helm of another marine approaching him.

The warboss fired his kustom shoota wildly to his left while he thrust his kutlass into another Marine on his right. To the Warboss's surprise, the Rubric marine simply grabbed Gulgrim's blade and began to claw his way to the Kaptin. On the other side, Gulgrim noticed another marine had fallen completely, dropped by the fusillade of fire that the warboss had unknowingly laid into him. An idea began to form in Gulgrim's mind, and he turned the shoota on the marine clawing its way up his sword and opened fire. The barrage of bullets rained down on the marine, and while it took several rounds without breaking stride, eventually one seemed to be effective, and the suit fell limp. Its last act was to fire a shot that grazed the Warboss's face, drawing blood and tearing a chunk of flesh from his cheek. The warboss simply grinned, the force of his facial muscles widening the wound by a small amount.

"I'z found da key boyz!" Gulgrim shouted to his retinue. "'It 'em more, not 'arder! Dey'z aint got no gutz, but ya'z gotta break 'em up!" Gulgrim looked down to see the two he had simply cleaved into were still crawling toward him, and with a barrage of bullets, he laid them both low.

"Heheheh! Dey'z can take a gud hit proppa, but dey'z can only take so many! Fill 'em full o' Dakka, boyz!"

The warboss disposed of his Kutlass momentarily to draw his second kustom shoota and began to open fire in all directions, hailing bullets into the Rubric marines as the remaining members of his retinue did the same, switching to their dakka and letting fly into the enemy.

The warboss may be brutish and violent, but on the battlefield, his true kunning shines through.

[Kitharsis]

Kitharsis grips his pick tightly as the doors finally give to Gulgrim's relentless assault.

The sights behind the doors cause a sharp inhale from Kitharsis. He will never become used to the vulgar displays of the Chaos legions.

The others charge in, and Kitharsis follows suit. Thundering steps carry him swiftly into the front line of the Chaos marines. Bolter fire of pure Chaos energy whizzes by. Those meeting their mark are quickly deflected by the tiny mage on his shoulders. The thick, curved spike of Kitharsis's pick sinks into the chest of the first Chaos marine he encounters. With a heave the spike tears through the armor, rending a large hole in the Chaos marine.

To Kitharsis's surprise, the Chaos marine rears a flaming sword above his head, simply disregarding the typically grievous wound. Not in position to parry with his pick, the tattoos on his left arm flare to life and wrap around the flaming sword, halting its descent. Before the Chaos marine can unsling his bolter, Kitharsis slams the hammer side of his pick down on the Chaos marine. The force of the blow sends armor flying in all directions.

His bone wings unfurl from his back, illuminated in crimson. Kitharsis spins, slamming his wings into the Chaos marines that were attempting to flank him. The Chaos marines are tossed aside, but the blow was meant to create space, not destroy.

In the brief moment he has to spare, Kitharsis erects a diamond shape shield with the tattoo on his right forearm. Not a moment too soon, as a flaming sword arcs its way toward his chest. He parries with the shield while striking with his pick. The tiny mage deflecting stray bolter fire all the while.

[Soul Reaver]

The sounds of battle erupt from within the spire, prompting Soul Reaver to action.  Quickly slipping through the opening kindly provided by Gulgrim, he sees a room virtually bursting with Rubric Marines.

It was unfortunate that it had come to this battle... destroying these marines would only weaken a force that could potentially be used against Abaddon, and would do little to endear them to Ahriman.  Even so, it didn't look like negotiation was going to be an option.

Soul Reaver has fought against the Thousand Sons before on Aldrean alongside Cameron.  As such, he knew of their strengths - and weaknesses - and thus was already formulating an energy-efficient counter to them.  Rubric Marines would rarely go down from a single shot.  Their armour had to be thoroughly smashed open, which would release the souls bound within.

Blooddrinker would have little trouble cleaving through the suits of powered armour, but the sheer amount of fire being purposefully levelled meant that a frontal assault would require prohibitively exhausting magical shielding.  Ranged tactics were better suited.

Hunkering down behind the shield wall provided by Jharm's troops, Soul Reaver sheathes Blooddrinker.  The Thousand Sons were standing croweded in almost shoulder-to-shoulder, making them prime targets for his intended tactics.  As Kitharsis, Cameron, Mary, Sepher, Jharm, Gulgrim and assorted orks and seraph soldiers engage in melee, Soul Reaver carefully notes the positions of those marines standing away from the chaotic front line.

He closes his eyes and focusses, raising one hand slowly upwards, fingers outstretched.  At the same time, the temperature in a large circular area of Thousand Sons marines begins to plummet.  Ice forms on their armour and spreads across the ground as all water vapour in the air swiftly crystallizes.  Any creature of flesh would likely have been killed as the temperature drops to almost absolute zero, but the Rubric Marines - though slowed by the ice in their joints - do not otherwise seem particuarly concerned.

Snapping out of his magical trance, Soul Reaver puts the second part of his plan into action.  Speaking different words of magic, a ball of superheated flame roars into life in Soul Reaver's hand.  With an enthusiastic swing, Soul Reaver hurls several balls of Hellfire overhead.  They arc upwards and plummet like mortars down amidst his chilled enemies, blasting outward with searing heat.  There is an audible cracking sound as the Rubric Marines armour fractures in countless places from the sudden and intense change in temperature.

Suppressing a grin, Soul Reaver rises as much as he dares above the shield wall and picks out key targets in the midst of the momentarily disoriented marines.  Moving while casting and keeping his eyes on his targets, he weaves two spells together, combining both the effects of an Explosion and Shatter spell into a new incantation: Shattering Blast.

One of the Rubric Marines seems almost surprised as the a bringht yellow light flashes inside his armour.  A thousand hairline cracks are outlined by the inner radiance... and then he explodes like a shrapnel bomb, sharp pieces of his armour punching through the weakened armour of the marines next to him, causing those nearest to him to smash apart like ceramic vases.  One after another, weakend marines detonate, causing massive damage to their allies in the process.

As he blasts his foes, Soul Reaver raises his other hand high into the air.  The souls of the fallen Rubric Marines - both those targetted by Soul Reaver and those felled by his companions - find themselves yanked forcibly from the shattered husks for their armour and drawn inexorably to Soul Reaver, who absorbs them to prevent them from reconstructing themselves.

[Cameron]

The Grey Knight Terminators take up positions behind the Seraph's shield wall. Protected from the bulk of the tainted chaos fire, the Marines follow the ork's lead and return fire with their arm mounted storm bolters. Heavy bolter fire shells the Rubric Marines, driving them back and weakening their armor. A number of Rubric Marines try to rush the seraph's shield wall, but the Terminators reach over top of their allies and lash out with their Nemesis force swords and halberds which tear through the Chaos armor like paper.

Mary is completely surrounded by Rubric Marines, but she holds them at bay with the superior reach of her two-handed sword. Any marines that make the mistake of charging her end up smashed apart by powerful blows. She keeps half an eye out for Danyael, but so far he has opted not to enter the fray. He hangs back for the moment, planning his next move with care.

Cameron opts not to summon his normal swords, as they are too light to break apart the Chaos armor quickly. Instead, he has grabbed two of the Nemesis force swords from the Grey Knight's weapons surplus. With Kalana's memories now residing in his mind, he can clearly understand the technology behind these weapons, since she had designed them.

A regular Space Marine force sword is an adamantium blade with a crystalline matrix built into it's core. Space Marine Librarians are able to channel their psychic energy into the core of the blade, creating a powerful field around the weapon that disrupts any matter it comes in contact with. Kalana's Nemesis system uses a psychic hood built into every Grey Knight helmet that channels latent psychic energy from the wearer into a re-designed blade. Instead of being pure adamantium with a crystal core, the crystalline matrix is built into the surface of the blade using a mixture of adamantium and ceramite. This allows the blade to be just as dangerous as a normal force sword while requiring significantly less psychic energy, so that Marines without psychic abilities can still use them effectively as long as they are in Grey Knight armor. And when someone who does have psychic abilities wields them...

When Cameron's gauntlets cover the grips of these swords, the two blades burst into blue flames. He leaps over the other Terminators and the Seraph shield wall, landing next to Sepher. Cameron's attacks batter a few marines to the ground and prevents them from counter-attacking the demo warrior.

Both Jharm and Soul Reaver's efforts to absorb or destroy the souls of the fallen Rubric Marines keeps many of them from reviving. But  both warriors find that they are competing for these souls with a very powerful force near the center of the room. For every soul that Soul Reaver absorbs or Jharm destroys, another two are sucked into the crystal pillar and upwards, out of the top of the chamber.

As the horde of Rubric Marines begins to thin out, the Spire shakes under the feet of those remaining. A massive roar seems to come from everywhere at once. Without warning, the strange sculptures in the room begin to move of their own accord, lashing out at the companions. The Spire itself appears to have joined the fray. Razor spikes tear through the floor underneath Gulgrim and his orks. Cameron and Sepher sudden;y find themselves enclosed as a massive obsidian sculpture doubles in size and wraps around their position. The Seraph shield wall is disrupted as the floor ripples under their feet, throwing off their footing. Dark tendrils leap from nearby sculptures and rip at Jharm, attempting to tear him to the ground. Mary tries to take to the air but is batted down by a swinging chandelier and sent flying directly at Kitharsis. And although Soul Reaver is suddenly engulfed as the blood in the fountain closest to him flash boils and projects itself in his direction.

And as the companions deal with his new threat, the Rubric Marines regroup, recover some of their numbers, and launch a counter offensive.

[Soul Reaver]

Soul Reaver is quick notice an external force working against him to drawing the souls of the Rubric marines away, and he also is quick to locate the central crystal pillar as the source of the disturbance.  He beings to send a message to Cameron.

Cameron, that pillar-

He is interrupted when the entire room - literally - erupts into chaotic pandemonium.  The floor ripples beneath him and he hears a deafening roar to his right.  He turns just in time to see an unformed, boiling red mass hurtle in his direction.

With barely any time to think, Soul Reaver outstretches both hands, palms facing forward, and speaks the warding words to create a magical Force Barrier.  It crackles into life without a second to spare, the boiling blood hitting the curved, spherical shield.  Though it cannot penetrate, it rolls over and around the barrier, completely engulfing Soul Reaver.

The barrier spits and crackles from every point as Soul Reaver struggles to maintain it against the pressure.  He could not keep the barrier up for long.  But it gave him a few more precious seconds to think of an alternative way out.

Soul Reaver once again chants the words of the Chill spell he used against the Rubric marines, this time holding the energy within himself until the last moment.  He then drops the Force Barrier at the same instant he unleashes the spell.

The intense cold instantly freezes the entire mass of blood solid, leaving Soul Reaver unharmed - if a bit claustrophobic - in the midst of a spherical chamber.  Soul Reaver frees himself with a couple of solid punches, shattering the sides of his unusual prison and sending chunks of bloody ice skittering across the floor.

Soul Reaver strides forward and draws Blooddrinker, with the intent of hurling it at the crystalline pillar.  However, as he focuses on his target, he senses that the energy coruscating over it is only a tiny fraction of what it contains within.

Realizing that destroying the pillar could potentially result in a devestating chaos-fuelled explosion - one that might destroy the spire itself - Soul Reaver curses and instead throws at the blade at the rallying Rubric marines.  The blade spins like a red disc through the air toward its targets.  It should have little trouble slicing the Rubric marines in half.

[Daccio]

   He once more finds himself fighting with cameron at his back. The daemon nods to the warrior as he tears into marines, still aborsbing their chaos bolter fire, storing the energy for his own counterattack that was nearly ready.

   His spear whirled around him in a blur and just as he is getting ready to stirke out once more, the floor under Sepher's feet begin to shake. A massive roar breaks out and sepher, in his daemonic form feels compelled to do the same. Spittle flecks flying from his mouth, he roars back at the spire,  as if that could somehow do something.

   The noise surrounding them suddenly dims as obsidian encloses Cameron and himself. Sepher looks around, battle instincts on high, looking for the cause of this. He snarls and tries to slash at the obsidian with his claws. Curls of obsidian stone flake off, but this was tough.

   Drawing deep on the chaos energy he had gathered, he begins to focus it. His spear seems to melt down and the metal wraps around his wrist like a gauntlet as he holds his two clawed hands at his side. Suddenly, Sepher slams his claws into the obsidian, pushing the energy out in a raw, unaltered destructive force, to blow open the obsidian. He snarls and growls as he pushes against the stone, willing it to blow outward in a spray of obsidian shards to tear the Rubric marines to shreds.

[Kitharsis]

A thick crimson shield slams into the side of an off balance Rubric Marine, sending the hollow armor toppling further.  A heavy metal boot slams into its back with such force that it breaks the magical seams holding the armor together.  Pieces of lifeless power armor collide with even more advancing Rubric Marines.  Their numbers were thinning, thankfully.  But Kitharsis's moment of relief is short lived.

A massive roar accompanies the entire Spire shaking and rumbling beneath his feet.  The sculptures come to life, rivaling the Seraph's constructs.  Kitharsis feels slightly foolish for admiring the large stony Seraph golems, as he finds himself facing a similar foe from the Chaos forces.

Kitharsis spreads his wings once again to create space.  A scorching desert wind bellows through the immediate area as the crimson webbed wings lash out around him.  He sets his feet as best he can on the quaking floor, preparing for whatever abomination comes his way.

A chandelier comes to life, along with every other twisted decoration in the room.  It swings directly into Mary, who was attempting to take to the air.  The chandelier bats her down, sending her directly at Kitharsis.  With little time to act Kitharsis springs into the air to meet her, at the same time stuffing his pick into the sling on his belt.  He stretches his arms to catch her mid-air, giving with her momentum to soften the landing.

Not wanting to linger exposed in the air, his wings fold up behind him.  His thick metal boots land on top of two Rubric Marines, who were assaulted by a blinding torrent of sand as a quick distraction.  The Rubric Marines burst to pieces from Kitharsis's full weight crashing down on them.

His wings spread around Mary and himself, the crimson webbing glowing intensely as a makeshift barrier.  The tiny mage, perched atop his shoulders outside of the barrier, is anxiously working overtime to divert any Chaos bolter fire their way.

"Mary, Are you alright?"

[Veldanya Venalla]

The Seraphim continues to battle on, his sledge crashing down against the armor of the Rubrik marines, his shield swinging out to deflect weapon strikes and bullets.  His glowing eyes notice that the souls of the destroyed chaos marines are being drawn into a crystal pillar in the center of the room.  He has little time to dwell on it though as he is suddenly assaulted by ebony tendrils erupting from sculptures near him.  The shadowy appendages manage to wrap around the angelic warriors arms.  Pain courses through him as dark energy begins to burn through his body.  A glowing shield of light manifest around Jharm as his body begins to glow as well.  The light seems to start flowing out of him and shoots up along the tendrils as he seeks to burn the malevolent entities away with righteous fire.

Meanwhile the Seraphs struggle briefly as the floor beneath them rumbles and buckles beneath them.  Commanding shouts emanate from the winged leaders of the soldiers, walls of light appearing in front of the vanguard forces to give them protection as they reform and steady themselves and push back against the counter-attack launched by the Rubricks.

[Danyael]

While Danyael held back, it wasn't due to cowardice. He'd entered the Spire, foolishly, only to have halted and stood fast instead. But he wasn't going to be alone for long, as the closest rubric marine dashed for him hungrily for what it perceived as an easy kill. The Marine moved in for the first assault, one hand igniting a volley of inferno bolt-gun fire at its target while the other hand, brandishing an ornate and arcane weapon of mysterious provenance. By Danyael's 'sight' did he perceive time in an almost mesmerizing slow motion dance of color and motion. He could see the power swirling both within and throughout the armor of the rubric marines, which he could deduce as being less than occupied. He recalled reflections of these creatures during his exile, but never faced them directly. He looked over their energy silhouettes over and over as the bolts and blades drew closer, only to shake his head. The reason why he couldn't find a person to pierce behind the armor was because they basically were the armor.

He looked it over as the danger drew closer, knowing that he would either have to move out of the way or engage. Their numbers were vast, but numbers weren't his concern. Only results. only the ends that justified the means. He looked over the companions, watched as Mary was knocked into the grip of Kitharsis, then watched as Sepher underwent his transformation into something... terrifying. He watched the Ork Warboss engage the enemy with a certain glee that the nephilim lord envied. He watched the Seraphim and his Seraph forces charge the enemy with an ever renewing zeal.  And then he watched Soul Reaver make way for the pillar, then oddly alter his strategy to re-engage.

He looked back to the closest Rubric Marine to him, now slowly within less than an inch to his face. He closed his eyes, then snapped them wide open, pushing off one foot to being between both arms of the marine, hammering the chest armor in an arcing one-inch-punch.  With time perceived in nigh stillness, his fist began to vibrate - subtly at first - then into full on distortion as it took on the form of one limb to many, all pushing with equalling force against the armor, expanding into an array of echoes of the nephilim lord that not only thrashed hard into the marine, but spread into a wide explosion of echoes, expanding through the chamber, reaching from the 'entrance' to the pillar. With every one punch from one echo, came a handful more by those that spread from the original caster. Time, perceived by those outside of the nephilim lord, snapped into motion as the attack appeared almost instantaneous. If the rubric marines' armor was struck as hard as Danyael had calculated, then it would shatter, allowing the souls within to be laid bare for Soul Reaver to siphon for himself.